Facile fabrication of hydrangea-like NiSe/FeSe2 nanostructures towards efficient water oxidation

A facile one-pot hydrothermal method has been demonstrated for the fabrication of an innovative hydrangea-like NiSe/FeSe₂ nanocatalyst for boosting oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Benefitting from the advantages of the porous architecture, high specific surface area, facilitated electron transfer rate, an ultralow overpotential of merely 210 mV is required for the optimized NiSe/FeSe_2(1:1.5) to drive the electrocatalytic water oxidation to reach to 10 mA cm^?2. Moreover, by equipping NiSe/FeSe_2(1:1.5) with Pt/C for electrochemical water splitting, a cell potential of merely 1.60 V is demanded to attain 10 mA cm^?2, even outperforming the IrO₂ 6 Pt/C couple. More importantly, the structure and morphology of NiSe/FeSe_2(1:1.5) are still well maintained after a long-term chronopotentiometry test. This work opens a new avenue for constructing effective and durable non-precious electrocatalysts for OER.     

Electrochemical interfaces on chalcogenides: Some structural perspectives and synergistic effects of single-surface active sites

The use of single-atom metals (SAM) as catalysts of energy conversion reactions is a recent topic, which has gained popularity in the last two decades. Transition metal dichalcogenides emerged as important electrocatalysts since it was discovered that their chalcogenide edge sites are active towards the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and could also serve as supports for other metals within the same applications. Currently, several groups have reported a novel metal?chalcogenide arrangement, with the possibility of isolating metals at specific sites on chalcogenides to enhance their properties resulting in a synergistic effect in which both chalcogenide and single-atom metal features are exploited, either as promoters or active sites. Theoretical studies have been the basis of these reports.     

Hydrogen evolution reaction on Pt and Ru in alkali with volmer-step promotors and electronic structure modulators

Alkaline water electrolysis despite having a variety of choices for anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts out of non-precious metals suffers significantly due to the poor kinetics of cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) even with the state-of-the-art Pt and equally active Ru. The Volmer-step (water dissociation (WD) coupled proton adsorption) of alkaline HER is mostly the rate-determining step (RDS) and costs most of the work required. In this review, recent developments in improving the HER kinetics of Pt and Ru with Volmer-step promotors and electronic structure modulators have been comprehensively analyzed and critically presented with the challenges and prospects.     

Circumventing the OCl versus OOH scaling relation in the chlorine evolution reaction: Beyond dimensionally stable anodes

The development of selective electrocatalysts for the chlorine evolution reaction (CER) is majorly restrained by a scaling relation between the OCl and OOH adsorbates, rendering that active CER catalysts are also reasonably active in the competing oxygen evolution reaction (OER). While theory predicts that the OCl versus OOH scaling relation can be circumvented as soon as the elementary reaction steps in the CER comprise the Cl rather than the OCl adsorbate, it was demonstrated recently that PtN₄ sites embedded in a carbon nanotube follow this theoretical prediction. Advanced experimental analyses illustrate that the PtN₄ sites also reveal a different reaction kinetics compared to the industrial benchmark of dimensionally stable anodes (DSA). A reverse Volmer–Heyrovsky mechanism was identified, in which the rate-determining Volmer step for small overpotentials is followed by the kinetically limiting Heyrovsky step for larger overpotentials. Since the PtN₄ sites excel DSA in terms of activity and chlorine selectivity, we suggest the Cl intermediate as well as the reverse Volmer–Heyrovsky mechanism as the design criteria for the development of next-generation electrode materials beyond DSA.     

High-entropy transition metal chalcogenides as electrocatalysts for renewable energy conversion

High-entropy transition metal chalcogenides (HE-TMCs) are advantageous in electrocatalytic applications compared to other entropy-stabilized systems owing to the greater orbital extension and energetic match of p-orbitals in chalcogenides with d-orbitals of the transition metals providing additional space to tailor their electronic structure. The high-configurational entropy of HE-TMCs leads to stabilization of cubic rock salt, wurtzite-type and hexagonally packed 2D structures. Due to the multi-element nature of HE-TMCs, the synergy among different elements results in tunable d- and p-band positions. As a consequence, the adsorption energies of electrocatalytic reaction intermediates can be tailored to enhance catalytic performance in water splitting and CO₂ reduction. Furthermore, the entropy-stabilized disordered microstructural state of the material endows HE-TMCs with improved corrosion resistance. Despite recent advances in HE-TMC electrocatalysis, challenges such as identification and synthesis of efficient HE-TMCs as well as the identification of catalytically active sites and reaction mechanisms on HE-TMCs remain to be investigated.     

Grand canonical ensemble approach to electrochemical thermodynamics,kinetics, and model Hamiltonians

The unique feature of electrochemistry is the ability to control reaction thermodynamics and kinetics by the application of electrode potential. Recently, theoretical methods and computational approaches within the grand canonical ensemble (GCE) have enabled to explicitly include and control the electrode potential in first principles calculations. In this review, recent advances and future promises of GCE density functional theory and rate theory are discussed. Particular focus is devoted to considering how the GCE methods either by themselves or combined with model Hamiltonians can be used to address intricate phenomena such as solvent/electrolyte effects and nuclear quantum effects to provide a detailed understanding of electrochemical reactions and interfaces.     

Cathodic corrosion: 21st century insights into a 19th century phenomenon

Cathodic corrosion is an enigmatic electrochemical process that etches metallic electrodes at potentials below 0 V versus the normal hydrogen electrode. Although this phenomenon was discovered in the late 1800s by Fritz Haber, it remained mostly unnoticed during the 20th century and only attracted increased attention in the past decade. This recent attention has generated marked improvements in both the fundamental knowledge and the applications of cathodic corrosion. Fundamental new insights were gained into the effects and possible reaction intermediates of cathodic corrosion. Complementing these insights, recent advances involve applications of cathodic corrosion for nanoparticle synthesis and electrocatalyst modification. Both these applied and fundamental advances will be discussed in this short review on cathodic corrosion.     

二维金属有机框架材料的合成及电催化应用

二维金属有机框架材料(MOFs)由于具备高比表面积、 多孔性以及丰富的活性位点等优异特性而受到广泛关注, 并且在电催化领域展现出巨大的应用潜力. 研究者们已在二维MOFs的可控制备与电催化性能调控方面取得许多突破性进展, 显示出相关研究对开发高性能电催化剂的关键作用. 本文总结了二维MOFs的自上而下和自下而上合成策略以及二维MOFs衍生物的典型合成方法, 概述了二维MOFs在各尺度下的电催化性能调控策略, 并介绍了各种合成方法和调控策略在电催化中的应用. 最后讨论了该领域面临的挑战, 并对未来的发展方向进行了展望.     

双功能MoNi4电极实现水参与的氮杂环化合物转移氢化与脱氢

氮杂环的催化氢化在有机合成、药物研发、石油化工等领域有着重要应用.尽管发展了一系列均相和非均相催化加氢体系,但由于通常使用易燃易爆的氢气或价格昂贵且毒性较高的试剂(如:水合肼和硼氢化钠)为氢源,给安全生产及生态环境带来了严重的问题.此外,由于动力学同位素效应,氘代药物具有重要应用.氮杂环结构作为生物医药的构筑单元与关键中间体,现有的策略由于没有合适的氘源难以用于氘代氮杂环化合物的合成.因此,急需开发一种基于非贵金属催化剂和安全易得氢(氘)源的氮杂环催化氢(氘)化策略.水相中的电化学氢化可利用水电解原位产生的活性氢替代传统的氢气裂解实现有机氢化产物的合成,已成为一种理想氢化策略,被广泛应用于二氧化碳还原、硝酸根还原和生物质氢解等.本课题组前期研究已经实现了以氘水为氘源的氘代分子的高效电化学合成(Angew.Chem.Int.Ed.,2020,59,18527–18531;Angew.Chem.Int.Ed.,2020,59,21170–21175;CCS Chem.,2021,3,507–515).然而,要开发一种电化学的杂环氢化方法,一方面要克服氮杂环化合物对催化剂的毒化,另一方面要在电极表面产生大量的活性氢.因此,开发具有较好的水离解性能的非贵金属电极材料是实现氮杂芳烃电化学氢化和氘代的关键.基于上述要求,MoNi4(目前用于碱性电催化水分解制氢的活性较高的非贵金属材料)成为理想的电极材料.本文以喹喔啉(1,2,3,4-四氢喹喔啉骨架作为重要的结构单元存在于许多生物活性化合物中)作为模板底物,设计并制备了三维自支撑的MoNi4多孔纳米片为双功能电极,以水和氘水为氢源和氘源,实现了喹喔啉及其他氮杂环分子的氢化与氢化,同时实现了四氢喹喔啉的电化学氧化脱氢.制备了MoNi4纳米片阵列,利用扫描电子显微镜、透射电子显微镜、X射线衍射和X光电子能谱等手段进行表征,评估了其在碱性电解液中用于喹喔啉电化学转移氢化的性能.结果表明,MoNi4电极加速了动力学缓慢的Volmer步骤,在仅50 mV的过电势下以80％的法拉第效率实现了喹喔啉的电化学氢化.电子顺磁共振等证实水电解生成了H*,并与喹喔啉自由基阴离子偶联实现喹喔啉的氢化.同时,该电化学转移氢化方法可很好地应用于一系列喹喔啉衍生物和其他氮杂芳烃化合物.克级合成体现了该电化学转移氢化方法的潜在应用性.原位拉曼实验结果表明,在MoNi4表面形成的NiOOH是实现1,2,3,4-四氢喹喔啉氧化脱氢的重要物种.此外,以D2O代替H2O,可以较好的收率和高达99％的氘化率实现氘代氮杂环的合成.与传统的氮杂环氢化方法相比,本文的电化学转移氢化策略具有绿色、温和、高效的特点,同时拓宽了电化学氢化在合成化学中的应用.     

碱性介质中氢氧化反应电催化剂的开发:从机理认识到材料设计

阴离子交换膜(AEM)燃料电池因具有使用非贵金属作为催化剂的优点而受到广泛关注.然而,在碱性体系中,AEM燃料电池中氢氧化反应(HOR)的反应动力学比在酸性介质中的慢两个数量级.针对HOR在碱中动力学缓慢的问题,有两种主要的理论来解释,(1)pH相关的氢结合能作为主要影响因素来控制HOR动力学的理论;(2)质子和氢氧根离子的吸附共同作为影响因子来控制HOR在碱性条件下的动力学的双功能理论.本文首先讨论了在碱性电解质中可能的HOR反应机理及其Tafel性能变化.除了传统的Tafel-Volmer和Heyrovsky-Volmer-HOR机理外,还讨论了最新提出的氢氧根离子吸附参与的HOR机理来说明在酸性和碱性介质中HOR机理的差异.然后,总结了具有代表性的碱性HOR催化剂(如贵金属、合金、金属间化合物、镍基合金、碳化物、氮化物等),简要介绍了它们相应的HOR反应机理,从而进一步理解在碱性介质中不同基元反应步骤给HOR性能带来的差异.最后,提出了一种未来设计HOR碱性催化剂的可行性方案,为今后碱性环境下的HOR催化剂设计提供参考.